1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chair, and more particularly to a back for the chair. The back includes a flexible material and contouring assembly that pulls the flexible material to form the flexible material into a contour that comfortably fits the human body.
2. Description of Related Art
Today, many people spend long hours seated, for example workers at desks. If these people are not seated in a comfortable, well-supported seated posture, they can experience various health problems. Common long-term health problems associated with sitting in uncomfortable positions include back pain, loss of circulation to the feet and legs, numbness, aching legs, and neck stiffness.
For proper seating a chair should allow you to adjust the following features: seat height; seat pan angle; and armrests. The seat pan angle adjustment is not essential to sitting properly. In addition, the chair should be easily rollable on carpet or hard flooring from a seated position. Furthermore, your lumbar area should be in contact with the chair back. In an effort to provide chairs with more comfortable seating, manufacturers have designed chairs that address these concerns.
Lumbar support is of particular interest with respect to the present invention. The lumbar support should be such that the curve of the backrest should support the natural curve of your back. You shouldn't feel too arched or unsupported. If a chair does not provide sufficient lumbar support, you may be able to us a lumbar pillow or towel rolled up to improve fit. These solutions are undesirable however, since the support may shift at times allowing seating position to be incorrect and requiring readjustment, additionally these solutions may look unprofessional.
Chair with adjustable features and a lumbar support is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,386,634 B1 to Stumpf et al. This chair allows for the above-identified adjustments. The lumbar support, as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, bears against the backrest membrane and provides a surface area for supporting the user's back. The lumbar support is made of a semi-rigid material such as rubber. This chair and lumbar support, however, have complex designs.
The present invention was developed in an effort to provide a comfortable chair, particularly a chair with a comfortable back support that is easy to manufacture.